Chapter Sixty-Six: The Venomous Crocodile's Self-Destruction

"You lot must be truly bored!" Night Five said helplessly, though he made no move to stop them. Not only did he not stop them, he even handed out one of the Thousand Venoms Palace's exclusive antidote pills to each member of their small circle. Of course, only their inner group received this gift, but the ripple effect soon spread through the promenade, and everyone began to look forward to the Poison Mistress's arrival.

Yu Youwei had never expected she would attract such attention; she only felt that the unimpeded journey so far was far too unusual. Deciding to be bold, she urged her Blacklight Shuttle above Serpent Valley and let out a flamboyant, enchanting laugh. "How lively the Xuancha Palace is! Seems I've come at just the right time."

The Ninth Elder of Xuancha Palace soared into the air on her sword, hands clasped in greeting with a smile that never reached her eyes. "Poison Mistress, you’ve come from afar. Please, rest for a while in the promenade."

Rising gracefully, her figure light as a willow in the wind, Yu Youwei wore a fire fox mask that hid her face, making her seem delicate beyond measure—yet her presence was anything but meek. "I’m here to cause trouble, not to rest," she declared brazenly.

"This woman is too wild! I like her!" Ye Qianzhong laughed excitedly.

Li Bing also showed a look of interest. "I hope she gets out in one piece."

Night Five gazed at the alluring rose-colored figure in the sky, not the least bit concerned. From above came the voice, "Poison Mistress, for Young Master Night Five’s sake, I’ll overlook your rudeness this once. Don’t mistake courtesy for weakness!"

Night Five’s sensual lips curved into a charming smile.

"Do I need that brat Night Five to back me up? Bah! You old crone, don’t assume everyone else is as shameless as you lot," Yu Youwei retorted coldly, shattering Night Five’s fantasy. With a wave of her hand, she threw out a venomous crocodile—then another, and another—hurling them down among the disciples of Xuancha Palace by the blood pool.

Thirty crocodiles, each over fifteen meters long and all of the seventh rank or higher, had been suppressed by Little White Bear’s beastly might and force-fed berserker pills. Now, released, their drug-crazed fury knew no bounds. The Xuancha Palace disciples were in the middle of the blood pool ritual and could not interrupt it. By the time the guardian disciples rushed to intercept the crocodiles, bodies already littered the ground.

"Poison Mistress, you’re courting death!" The Ninth Elder's eyes blazed with wrath. She struck out, her palm landing on a crocodile's back. With a roar, the creature spewed a spray of emerald venom. The elder’s body flashed with a watery blue shield to block the venom, but the crocodile’s tail smashed the shield to pieces. The venom-streaked tail lashed across her face, instantly burning it into a charred, blackened disc.

"I’ll kill you for this!"

The Ninth Elder charged like a madwoman. Yu Youwei skillfully piloted her flying shuttle away, leaving only an enchanting, mocking laugh in the air. "You want to fight me? Let’s see if you survive the crocodiles’ self-destruction!"

At this, even those who weren’t members of Xuancha Palace broke out in cold sweat. Was this woman insane? So many venomous crocodiles—if they all self-destructed at once, wouldn’t the entire Emerald Serpent Valley be blown apart? They, too, would be caught in the crossfire.

"Let’s go. There’s no way into the Serpent Valley blood pool now," Night Five was stunned. Every time the Poison Mistress appeared, she brought something unexpected. Ever since learning that Mu Yuyan had been captured by Xuancha Palace, he’d known Yu Shiyu would seek vengeance. Even if Yu Shiyu had called in the elders of her sect, he hadn’t thought she’d pull off something as mad as this. Xuancha Palace would be crippled by this blow.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

The crocodiles in the air exploded, mushroom-shaped flares bursting forth. For a moment, all were blinded. When the light faded, fragments of crocodiles and what remained of the Ninth Elder’s body rained down.

On the ground, the crocodiles detonated in near unison, mushroom clouds rising densely around the blood pool and adjacent open ground. The disciples of Xuancha Palace, unable to interrupt their ritual as they performed their strange dance, were blasted to oblivion.

Demon-Sword Lu Haofeng followed Night Five as they fled the valley, exclaiming, "Dozens of high-level venomous crocodiles—she really let them all blow themselves up! Can this woman get any crazier?"

"Are you scared?" Ye Qianzhong teased.

"A woman like this is exactly my type," Lu Haofeng replied, eyes burning.

"Good fortune with beauties is fine, provided you live to enjoy it," Li Yang shook his head. "I’m not playing this game anymore."

"Pathetic," Lu Haofeng scoffed.

"This is not a woman you can force," Li Bing said wisely, making the others break out in cold sweat.

Night Five laughed aloud, "Li Bing, even having that thought makes you quite the character."

Ye Qianzhong’s eyes were fixed on the alluring red figure atop the Blacklight Shuttle, his desire to conquer her burning fiercely. He produced the Cloudpiercer Shuttle he’d just acquired from his father and soared after her, leading the chase. The Cloudpiercer Shuttle was a celestial-grade flying device, faster than Yu Youwei’s, and he quickly closed the gap.

Night Five followed, trailed by Lu Shuangxing and then by Xuancha Palace cultivators and Li Bing’s group—a mighty procession in pursuit of Yu Youwei, who was already a black dot on the horizon.

Having come to provoke Xuancha Palace, Yu Youwei naturally guarded against pursuit. Ye Qianzhong arrived first; she naturally assumed he was an enemy as well. While Xuancha Palace only recruited female disciples, it was no secret their women used their charms on men, and it was normal for their men to act on their behalf.

Mercy for the enemy was unnecessary. Yu Youwei drew a handful of invisible poison smoke and flung it at Ye Qianzhong, forming a transparent barrier in the air. Ye Qianzhong crashed into it, unaffected, which so infuriated her she cursed out loud, "Damn it! Night Five, you little wretch, I’ll settle this with you later!"

Night Five heard her and smiled wryly, "Really, Aunt? If Ye Qianzhong provokes you, why take it out on me?"

Everyone was stunned, especially the pursuing disciples of Xuancha Palace, who turned ashen. If this Poison Mistress was from the Thousand Venoms Palace, known for their dominance, they’d have to swallow this loss with no hope of redress.

Seeing Yu Youwei pause, Ye Qianzhong did not press closer but halted in midair several meters in front of her.

"Without the antidote you gave him, could he have crossed my smoke barrier? I’m in a hurry now—you need to deal with this trouble," Yu Youwei said, her fire fox mask raised, lips pressed tight in anger. In her hand, she gripped a handful of spirit stones prepared by Ning Zhongwu. After the crocodile explosion, she didn’t mind another spirit stone blast.

"They just want to get to know you, Aunt," Night Five said, not daring to admit they wanted to flirt. He never felt entirely confident before Yu Youwei.

"Fine, I’d like to take the time to get to know your bunch of idle, good-for-nothing scoundrel friends." She clenched her teeth, then declared with authority, "I’m in a foul mood—tell those idiots not to follow me!"

Rarely did one meet a woman whose presence surpassed his own. If this fire fox-masked woman wasn’t some ancient monster hiding her age, Ye Qianzhong felt she had already earned his respect. "If you have matters to attend to, go ahead. We’ll meet up another time," he said graciously.

"Ye Qianzhong, I'll remember you. Next time, I’ll treat you to tea," Yu Youwei replied, clasped her hands in salute, then sped away on her Blacklight Shuttle.

"It’s a promise," Ye Qianzhong returned the gesture with his blade, then turned to ask Night Five, "Since when did your father have such an extraordinary sister?"

"My aunt isn’t my father’s sister, nor is she from the Thousand Venoms Palace," Night Five replied, then refused to say more.